Abstract
Environmental pollution by organic waste especially hydrocarbons, pesticides, herbicides and other toxic wastes is a global problem. The petroleum industry has created economic boom for many countries and at the same time led to environmental and socio-economic problems. Release of hydrocarbons into the environment whether accidental or due to human activities is the main cause of water and soil pollution. Pesticide application on agricultural soil is now a common practice. Some of these pesticides persist in the soil to form pollutants which may occasionally lead to surface and ground water contamination. It is an important subject to study the role of microorganisms in organic pollutant biodegradation as it is a safe alternative to physicochemical techniques. This paper summarized the general principles of organic pollutant degradation by microorganisms. Emphasis was laid on the biochemistry of hydrocarbon oxidation viz; terminal and sub terminal oxidation of n-alkanes as well as anaerobic degradation of alkanes. This paper also highlighted the pathways for the biodegradation of organic chemicals such as pesticides as well as factors affecting organic pollutant biodegradation. Beside these factors affecting biodegradation, efforts at improving the biodegradative capabilities of microorganisms through biostimulation, bioaugmentation and the use of genetically engineered microorganisms (GEM) were also discussed.
Highlights
Environmental pollution by organic compounds of anthropogenic origin is a major global problem
Polybromated diphenyl esters (PBDEs) are fire retardants added to a large variety of consumer items, that leach into surrounding materials and can be detected in many populations [1]
This may sometimes involve the addition of genetically engineered microorganisms (GEMs) suited for biodegradation of the hydrocarbon contaminants into the contaminated soil
Summary
Environmental pollution by organic compounds of anthropogenic origin is a major global problem. The intensive use of pesticides, antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and other chemicals, their disposal and consequent presence in various environments, are of great concern due to their ecotoxicological effects on different organisms Such widespread use results in an increased concentration of these compounds in water, sediments and soil. Transformation or degradation is one of the key processes that governs environmental fate and transport of organic pollutants, which comprises different processes including abiotic degradation and biodegradation. Interest in the microbial degradation of pollutants has intensified [5,6], due to recent breakthroughs which has enabled detailed genomic, metagenomic, bioinformatic and other high-throughput analysis of environmentally relevant microorganisms This provides new insights into their biodegradative mechanisms and metabolic pathways
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